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08-06-2016, 05:01 AM
JOHANNESBURG: The African National Congress (ANC) vowed on Friday to learn from bruising local election results that showed South African voters drifting away from the party that led the anti-apartheid struggle.
With about 95 percent of the nationwide vote counted, the ANC was ahead overall but recorded its worst electoral performance since white-mi**rity rule fell 22 years ago.
The party once headed by Nelson Mandela was on 54 percent -- sharply down from 62 percent in the last municipal elections in 2011.
On Friday, it conceded defeat to the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) in Port Elizabeth, an industrial city that was a key battleground of Wednesday’s election.
The two parties were in a close fight for Pretoria, the capital, and Johannesburg, the country’s eco**mic centre, with the ANC set to lose its outright majorities in both cities.
"We are **w going to do an introspective look at ourselves," said Cyril Ramaphosa, vice president of the ANC and the country. "(Our critics) think that we are arrogant, they think we are self-centred... I would like to dispute that and say we are a listening organisation."
Defeat in Port Elizabeth was a humiliating blow for the ANC as the municipality is officially k**wn as "Nelson Mandela Bay" in tribute to its past as a hotbed of anti-apartheid activism.
"The fall in support has been dramatic, in levels never seen before," political analyst Somadoda Fikeni told AFP.
"The poor performance, particularly in urban metros, points to declining support among the middle-class.
"These voters are concerned about the issues affecting the eco**my and unemployment."
The results were seen as a marker ahead of the next general election due in 2019. President Jacob Zuma will **t stand again after serving the maximum two terms.
According to official results on Friday, the DA was on 25 percent with the radical leftist Eco**mic Freedom Fighters (EFF) on nine percent.
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With about 95 percent of the nationwide vote counted, the ANC was ahead overall but recorded its worst electoral performance since white-mi**rity rule fell 22 years ago.
The party once headed by Nelson Mandela was on 54 percent -- sharply down from 62 percent in the last municipal elections in 2011.
On Friday, it conceded defeat to the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) in Port Elizabeth, an industrial city that was a key battleground of Wednesday’s election.
The two parties were in a close fight for Pretoria, the capital, and Johannesburg, the country’s eco**mic centre, with the ANC set to lose its outright majorities in both cities.
"We are **w going to do an introspective look at ourselves," said Cyril Ramaphosa, vice president of the ANC and the country. "(Our critics) think that we are arrogant, they think we are self-centred... I would like to dispute that and say we are a listening organisation."
Defeat in Port Elizabeth was a humiliating blow for the ANC as the municipality is officially k**wn as "Nelson Mandela Bay" in tribute to its past as a hotbed of anti-apartheid activism.
"The fall in support has been dramatic, in levels never seen before," political analyst Somadoda Fikeni told AFP.
"The poor performance, particularly in urban metros, points to declining support among the middle-class.
"These voters are concerned about the issues affecting the eco**my and unemployment."
The results were seen as a marker ahead of the next general election due in 2019. President Jacob Zuma will **t stand again after serving the maximum two terms.
According to official results on Friday, the DA was on 25 percent with the radical leftist Eco**mic Freedom Fighters (EFF) on nine percent.
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